


Who Said Anime Can't Bring People Together?

by Tototops



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Childhood Friends, Dianakko Week, Dianakko Week 2020, F/F, Getting Back Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:06:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26089879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tototops/pseuds/Tototops
Summary: Akko and Diana grew apart since their early childhood days of playing and watching magical girl animes. When a convention shows up, Akko tries to reconnect, but can they or have they actually drifted too much?
Relationships: Diana Cavendish & Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Comments: 14
Kudos: 23





	Who Said Anime Can't Bring People Together?

**Author's Note:**

> Posted for Dianakko Week 2020 Day 1

* * *

  
  


Akko enters her dorm room and dashes towards her laptop to turn it on. She heard the news through some friends, but wants to see the event details for herself. She opens her browser and logs onto her WitchSpace account and for sure there it is, a big event recommendation first thing on her feed.

A paid promotion for FanCon, country's biggest pop culture convention.

Akko attended a couple of similar but smaller events in the past, however this one had something unique that made her more excited about it. In between the myriad of big media names listed for the event was the title of a once very popular and Akko's favorite childhood anime: Mahou Shoujo Shiny Chariot.

The event was very close to the 15th anniversary of the original series release. Even though most of the time those things didn't mean too much, probably just a special re-release on Blu-ray with some exclusive merchandising, Akko was still thrilled because Ursula Callistis, the English dub voice actress for the protagonist Shiny Chariot, is going to attend the event.

Akko was nine years old when the anime first aired overseas and since then Ursula only took part in smaller roles, never gathering sufficient attention to be invited to those kinds of big events. Akko still followed Ursula's career and now she had the opportunity to finally meet the woman who made her fall in love with voice acting.

Mahou Shoujo Shiny Chariot wasn't any anime masterpiece, Akko would be the first one to admit that, but that didn't diminish in any way the love she had for the series, since it was a big part of her childhood.

After skimming through the rest of FanCon's lineup, deciding that not much else was of her immediate interest, Akko took the opportunity to scroll her timeline and check news on friends and family. Drama school didn't leave much breaks, so she hasn't been up to date on her social networks.

Akko's family had to move a lot due to their work at an International company. When they first arrived in the US from Japan, Akko was only four years old. They haven't left the US since, but they moved six more times between states. This meant that Akko didn't finish any stretch of grades with the same classmates, but on the other hand she made friends everywhere and always had someone to talk to.

Lotte, her friend from New York, posted a very love ridden poem for Frank, their former classmate, their bio said they have been dating for three years now. The matching profile pictures were very cute;

Sucy, her friend from Missouri, had recently published a paper for her Biology degree. Something on zigon... zyngonmin... zygomycosis, or whatever the hell it was spelled;

Conz, her friend from Pennsylvania, was making big hits on HexTube with her crazy and kinda dangerous robots videos. The last one was a roomba that cursed when it bumped into stuff;

Amanda, her Texan friend, had placed first in the woman's division for the Urban Ultra Dallas. In the photo, Amanda was doing a big proud thumbs up for the camera at the finish line, sweat dripping on her running shirt and headlamp on her head;

Jasminka, her friend from Oregon, was on one of those food competition talent shows on TV, but unfortunately got eliminated half-way through. The other participants were already very experienced chefs, so she did very well against the odds she faced.

It was then that Akko saw something that managed to clench her excited heart. A auto generated posts that WitchSpace did sometimes, this one celebrating her and Diana's eleven years of friendship. They were already friends when WitchSpace became popular in their early teens, and after incessantly pestering Diana so the blonde finally signed up for the social platform, both were each others first contacts added.

Akko watched the highlight auto-playing itself, it filled with some of their first posts together. Amongst them a photo that Diana's mother took when she was still alive, in it, the two children playing make believe together both brandishing their Shiny Rods replicas with matching Shiny Chariot cosplay hats.

This was one of Akko's most precious memories. Not just because she found a random stranger at the local park that also liked Mahou Shoujo Shiny Chariot, but because that same stranger later turned out to become her best and dearest friend.

If only they hadn't fallen apart recently.

Akko drags the mouse to hover over Diana's profile picture and click it. Not surprisingly, Diana's profile was mostly barren of any updates on her life, the blond was never too keen on updating her social medias. She was attending a medical school somewhere where Akko couldn't place, not a big surprise there for Akko; She apparently also had some new roommates: two girls, an auburn haired and a black haired that by the photo tagging Akko deduced were named Hannah and Barbara respectively.

Akko observed the selfie with the three of them a little more. All of them were sitting at a bar booth, Diana's new roommates on each side of the blond. They were actually cute if Akko spared any thought to them, but her eyes were focused on Diana. Long blond locks framed a perfect pair of piercing blue eyes. Even though they were just pixels on a screen, they appeared like they were staring directly at her.

Akko looked at the instant messenger feature of the site unsure if she should contact Diana. She wanted to talk to her again, she missed the blond dearly, but what to start a conversation with after so much time. Almost mocking her, the chat history shower their last message: a shared promise to keep in touch, time stamped five years ago.

Akko felt a pang of regret hitting her chest. They both fell apart slightly after Akko had to move once again, but they managed to keep contact, messaging each other frequently. Until eventually, life caught up and the time between talks extended from days to weeks, to months. They are still very much friends with each other, at least Akko thinks they are, but that spark that kept them talking about nothing and everything for hours on end just seemed.. gone.

The brunette looks at the blank text box in front of her, the little icon on Diana's profile picture at the top of their chat history indicating that the blond was offline. Akko could send something, ask her how she is, what she has been up to. Akko starts to realize that she misses Diana more than she knew she did. She should just ask the blond something, anything.

Hiya Diana whats up  
  
been a long time uh  
  
  


Dread immediately hit her. What was she supposed to say? As usual she just went and did the first thing that crossed her mind. Okay, you can wing this.

Hows life going? everything easy-breezy?  
  


Goddamn me, why do I have to be this way. Not just asking her the most boring question of them all right out of the bat, what was that at the end? I need to change the topic quickly.

Ya know, theres this event, FanCon around the corner and they are going to have this panel with this VA Ursula, you know her right?  
  
From Mahousho Shiny Chariot, remember that show?  
  


You dumb. Of course she remembers the show, the same post WitchSpace did for you is probably on Diana's timeline as well. Better to end this quickly before I embarrass myself even more. However, before Akko could finish typing whatever excuse she was going to, a reply came and took her by surprise.

You still like that sort of show?  
  


Akko felt a realization hit her, that they both have really grown apart. One of Akko's most precious things, that she kept very close to her heart, symbolizing both her most ardent passion in voice acting and the memories of her dearest friend, doesn't hold the same weight for Diana, at least not anymore.

Yeah who still likes those shows am I right  
  
Silly me. Anyway, sorry for bothering you.  
  
I need to go now. We should talk more. Bye.  
  


Akko closed the browser window without even waiting to see if Diana was going to reply. Diana probably thinks I'm still childish for liking this stuff. The next day, after her curiosity overcame her embarrassment, she checked that, in fact, Diana did not leave a reply. They have, indeed, fell apart along the way.

* * *

Akko happily strode around the halls of the convention center FanCon was being held on, excitedly looking everywhere trying to absorb all of her surroundings. Her credentials hanging by the lanyard on her neck, bouncing on her imported limited special edition 10th anniversary mint condition Mahousho Shiny Chariot t-shirt as she happily strode around the place.

There were a ton of things to see and distract Akko, and fortunately the Shiny Chariot panel was at the very end of the day so she had time to spend looking at things and sate her curiosity before she needed to head to the waiting line.

Akko took her time to try to see as much as she could from the convention, nothing was just as exciting as seeing her idol in person, but still why not enjoy when she was already here. She waited in line for some game demos, but skipped the VR ones, since the wait for those were far too long to make it worth it. She tried to attend some other panels as well, but the rooms were so packed that she couldn't see much behind the almost literal wall of fans blocking her view.

During all of this, she walked by tons and tons of groups of cosplayers, from super heroes to old cartoons and anime, she even saw one dressed as Shiny Chariot. So good to see her favorite series have some love after so many years, even if it was only just a little.

After spending too much time discussing with a group of cosplayers how Shiny Chariot was actually a very well written deconstruction of a typical magical girl show tropes, Akko was reminded that the panel was about to start and all the merch she brought for signing was at her locker all the way at the entrance.

With no time to spare, she dashed around the convention hall on a mad sprint, passing by other attendees or her way, almost bumping into a group of cosplayers which were doing a photo shoot, yelling an apology she continued on her way to the panel. Akko planned on arriving early so she could catch a good spot to watch the panel.

Entering the room where it would take place Akko noticed, fortunately for her luck and perhaps unfortunately for the future of the series she loved so much, that it wasn't as packed as she would have imagined. It's not like there wasn't anyone attending the panel, but there were a couple of empty rows here and there and it was clearly the least crowded one so far.

At least a place to sit would not be a problem, still, her relief of not having to catch a big line wasn't enough to surpass the pang of sad acknowledgement that her beloved series has just a shadow of relevance it once had.

Akko's mind involuntarily brought up her last messages with Diana. Not wanting to dwell much on sad feelings, Akko lightly smack both her cheeks twice and focused her attention on the stage at the front. Up there was a long table with some chairs facing the crowd and name tags at each spot, indicating who would sit on each one. Behind it all was a big projector screen.

Right as Akko was taking her seat, the voice actors and producers of the show were filling in on their respective spots and the panel soon started. After the presentations and acknowledgments for the 15th anniversary of the show, the host thanked for the continued interest of the fans and then the lights went off. On the big screen a montage with scenes from the anime was shown and at the end the big reveal: There were announcing a sequel to the original series with simuldub releases on the US.

A big round of excitement filled the room, as big as the timid crowd would allow. Akko was just euphoric, she wasn't expecting this at all. The panel soon moved to the Q&A section, with the producers and voice actors responding a few questions about the past and upcoming show. At the end of it all, since the crowd was tiny and contained, the organizers decided to hold a small meet-and-greet.

Meeting Ursula was one of her biggest dreams and here she was, right in front of her, with Akko stretching her shirt as so the woman could sign it for her - "Hum, Miss Ursula, I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, for your work and for being a part of my life. I decided to become a voice actress because of you and this series means so much to me, so, thank you very much."

"I'm thrilled that you kept up with the show for all this time and that somehow my work impacted you in such a good way. Your name?"

"Atsuko Kagari, but you can call me Akko."

"All right then.. 'for Akko, thank you for your support and dedication and don't forget:' "

"A believing heart is your magic!" \- said both women in unison.

"There, signed up. I expect to see you again some day, at one of these panels perhaps?"

"Thanks a bunch, Ursula." \- Before she could say anything more, Akko was coached out of the way to allow for the rest of the fans to greet the woman.

On her way back towards the exit of the room, Akko had to do double take, because it wasn't possible that Diana of all people was just standing there at the door frame, looking as if she was searching for someone. Why was Diana here? Who is she looking for? Certainly not for me after what happened last month.

Diana finally saw Akko approaching the door, their eyes crossed paths and Akko could swear she saw a smile take on Diana's face. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry, and greeted the blond when she finally got close to be at earshot distance - "H-Hey, Diana. L-Long time no see?"

"Yes, Atsuko, a long time indeed." \- Why not just Akko? I guess she wasn't actually looking for me then, better just make an excuse and leave her alone even though I don't want to \- "Heh, yeah right. Well, see you around Diana, bye gotta go."

Akko turned to leave the girl to herself, but even before she could take a single step away, a hand reached for her forearm - "Wait!"

Confused by the sudden motion of the blond, Akko just stood there, until her internal dialogue was cut short - "Are you truly busy right now? If not, can we talk for a bit?"

For some reason, Akko couldn't say 'no' to the pleading tone Diana asked - "Y-yeah, of course. Let's get somewhere less crowded first."

With a nod, Diana let go of Akko's arm and followed the brunette to a more calm spot on the convention center, close to the big tinted glass panels on the wall which overlooked the patio and exterior area of the structure. Both faced each other and a silent moment fell between them, Diana with her head down pointedly not facing Akko.

"Now, what do you want to talk about, Diana?" \- Akko asked a bit more forcefully than intended, she was nervous for whatever reason.

"I came here to apologize, Atsuko."

Wait... what?! \- "Hum.. for what exactly?"

"For when we last messaged. I apologize for sounding rude and dismissive. That night has been nagging at my head since then and I needed to apologize to you properly."

Those bitter memories weren't enough to contain the dismissive tone coming to her throat - "Is that really it? Don't play with me, Diana." \- Please don't play with that, I get you don't actually care that much anymore.That day doesn't mean that much anymore.

"Yes, it is partially for it."

"You could just simply send me a message or whatever." \- If it was just that, why would Diana come here? Diana wasn't the type to do something like this.

"Yes, I could, but..."

When Diana took a bit longer to finish, Akko asked - "But.. what?"

Diana replied with a soft voice, her head still down hiding her face - "But I wanted to see you."

Akko took a moment to process what she just heard - "You came here just because of me?"

Diana raised her head, facing Akko and making eye contact, a small tear starting to form on the corner of her left eye - "Yes, Atsuko. I came here because of you. I may not care about Mahousho Shiny Chariot anymore, but I do care about you and whatever orbits around you, and being completely honest.. I missed you. A lot."

Akko stayed quiet, letting Diana finish speaking everything on her mind - "I am terribly sorry for being rude, it wasn't my intention. The truth is I was really happy to talk to you again, I didn't know how much I missed you until then."

So Diana also felt the same?

"When I saw you clearly hurt over what I naively said I needed to apologize properly, doing it by text would not suffice for me, so I came after you."

Diana was actually affected by all of this misunderstanding, more than Akko would believe at first. She took one of Diana's hand on hers to assure her friend - "You do realize this could have not worked, right? I mean, how did you know how to find me?"

Diana tried to rationalize her plan - "When you talked about FanCon I assumed you had the intention to attend and meet Ursula. I actually moved to a close city to study so I live just a two hour drive away. I was going to wait for when you left the event, but my roommates suggested I attended to meet you inside. I must concede to them, it was actually easier to wait for you at the panel than out there."

"Still, I could have not attended for any reason."

"Even so I was sure I would manage to catch you here. I guess you could say, what was the catch phrase again.. 'A believing heart is your magic!' ?".

And then laughter. Akko couldn't contain herself and was laughing out loud at the silliness of it all - "You are honestly unbelievable, Di!"

Whatever Diana was going to say got caught in her throat when Akko suddenly pulled her into a crushing hug. Akko's arms held her dear friend tight, almost as if trying to compensate for all the time they haven't spent together in the last couple of years - "You are forgiven, Di. And I also missed you. A bunch." \- Akko's words muffled by wavy locks of blond hair in her face.

Diana snuggled her head on Akko's neck and took all she could from the embrace she has missed for so long - "Thank you, Akko."

"Now, are you sure you don't want and autograph. I think Ursula is still in there."

"Actually, I much rather want to spend time with you.." \- A blush took Diana's features and she averted her eyes - "You know, to.. catch up."

Akko slightly blushed as well. With a surge of courage, she took Diana's hand fighting to dominate the fluttering feeling blooming in her chest - "Right, so.. hum, let's go outside then." \- She led the blond outside, so they could have a bit less of a crowd around them. They talked while taking a stroll around the exterior area of the event hall. Time appeared to past in a flash, their conversation and light banter falling in place like they never stopped talking for a single day in their lives.

Akko couldn't believe how easy it was to fall back into conversation with Diana, it almost looked stupid how wrong she was about their friendship. She should have just went on and talked with her and all this mess could have been avoided and they would already be talking like normal again. Should have trusted her heart more, after all, a believing heart was indeed the magic that brought them together again.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the result of a badly planned story that you realize is stupid four fifths of the way and it's too late to rewrite everything so you just roll with it.
> 
> These are some of my notes to illustrate the thought process while doing it:
> 
>   * Yup, I am taking the miscommunication route lol
>   * Yup, I thought of this plot point but I have no idea what to write for it so I'm just skipping all the details.
>   * Don't ask how Diana got a ticket for FanCon on such a short noticed from the event start.
>   * Yep, I totally realized this idea was stupid just when I reached this point so I'm making a half assed excuse. SUE ME.
> 

> 
> So, I hope this was at least half decent and entertaining. Please share your thoughts ~~even mean ones, I promise I don't cry _THAT_ easily~~ and thanks for reading.
> 
> Thanks CodenameCarrot and La_Temperanza for the [code used](https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/14729722?show_comments=true) for the text messages in this work. Check out their CSS tips, it's pretty neat.


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